May 14 in Heaven
by NCISgirl1527
Summary: Post Pay Up. Mac and Lindsey are both hurt and it takes some advice from friends to get them to come back to earth. Companion Piece to One Day in Heaven. Mentions of FA, Smacked, Mac/Claire, DL, DnA.
1. Heaven

_**This takes place at the very end of the season finale. I had to write it because…I did. This is sort of a companion piece to One Day in Heaven.**_

_**Spoilers: Pay Up, Heroes**_

_**Disclaimer: Aiden's sister is mine. Other than that…I got nothing.**_

"No!" a brunette yelled as the person in the car opened fire on the bar where all her friends sat.

"What's up, Aiden?" another brunette asked her.

Okay so not all her friends sat in that bar, but almost everyone she cared about was in there: Stella, Mac, Sid, Hawkes, Don, Danny, and Lindsey. Aiden had never met Lindsey, but she was important to Danny so Aiden cared about her by default. There were only three people who she cared about that weren't in that bar. The first and second were both dead already and standing next to her as she watched in horror. The third person was the only one on that list who actually was safe at this moment in time: her sister Katharine.

Aiden could not bring herself to speak, so she pointed at the scene taking place below them. The other brunette stood staring for a moment and then yelled at the top of her voice, "Claire."

Claire appeared out of what seemed like no where, "you don't have to yell, Jessica."

"Sorry," Jessica told her hurriedly, "but look."

Claire looked down to where the others were pointing. "Oh my gosh," she whispered, "Is that…?"

"Yea," Jessica replied, "It is." It was their team. It was their friends. It was the people they love. It was their family.

They watched as a blonde, who they assumed was Lindsey, was loaded into and ambulance. Danny watched franticly pacing back and forth. A second body, Mac, was being loaded onto a stretcher. Stella watched him go into the ambulance and they knew that she wanted to go with Mac to the hospital. Instead she turned back to the team and looked around to see who needed her.

Stella walked over to Danny, who was crying. "It didn't look good for her," Danny told Stella sadly.

"Lindsey is tough," Stella told him, "she will make it through this alive. She had a lot to live for." Danny nodded, but could not stop the tears from falling. Gently Stella wrapped her arms around him, and let him cry into her shoulder. When he had stopped crying, he pulled away from her and attempted to pull himself together.

"Was anyone else hurt?" Danny asked Stella hesitantly, "other than you."

"I'm not…" she started but stopped as Danny glared at her pointing to her arm. "That's just a scratch," she defended lightly.

"Stell," he started but she cut him off.

"Look Danny," she told him, "there were a limited number of medic's and Lindsey and Mac both had bullet wounds."

"Mac's hurt, too?" Danny asked her, and Stella nodded.

At that moment, Don walked up, "You guys want a lift to the hospital?" "Stella you're hurt," he told her.

"I am fine, Don, and a lift would be great come on, Danny," Stella told him before addressing the other two men around her. "Sid, Hawkes, Are you guys alright."

"I'm good," Sid said and Hawkes nodded, "you might want to get your arm examined though."

Stella groaned, "Hawkes tell them that my arm is fine,"

"It should be okay," Hawkes told the group and Stella grinned at him.

"Now, can we go to the hospital?" Stella asked.

--- --- ---

Aiden turned to look at the other two, but addressed Jessica, "do you remember that place between life and death?"

Jessica shuddered slightly, "yea, I do. What's your point?"

"Lindsey and Mac are both in critical condition," Aiden explained, "We need to make sure they stay where they belong and don't come with us."

"Mac has lost Claire, and Lindsey lost all those friends in Montana," Jessica thought out loud, "It is going to be tempting for them to stay."

"All the more reason we can't let them," Claire told the other two.

"Come on," Aiden told the other two leading them towards the entrance to Heaven.

When they got their they saw two people looking around the area looking very lost. "God, I hate this place, " Aiden muttered.

"Me, too," Jessica agreed. Both women remember with piercing accuracy those minutes that they had spent in this area. It was where those people between life and death hovered. Claire had not ever been there. She had died quickly and painlessly. Jessica had bled out and then died on the operating table. Aiden had been beaten to death, and her body was burned.

Now, Lindsey and Mac hovered here. It was up to the other three to make sure that they did not lose the battle, too.

Mac looked up as he glanced around where he was standing. His feet were resting on clouds and the only person he saw was Lindsey who was standing a little to his left. "Are we dead?" he asked her.

"No," Mac looked up surprised because it was not Lindsey who had answered. Then he saw three figures walking toward him over the clouds. "Miss me?" asked a women he though that he would never see again.

"Aiden?" he asked her hesitantly and she nodded happily. "You're dead," he said confused.

"I am?" Aiden asked pretending to be confused, "I didn't know I was dead. Did you?"

"No," Jessica answered with a smile, "I had no clue." Lindsey screeched slightly when Jessica appeared, but Mac didn't make a move. He was too fix on the woman standing behind the other two.

"Hello, Mac," Claire said quietly.

"Claire?" Mac asked hoarsely. She nodded in reply and he ran into her arms. Jessica glanced at Aiden and Aiden gave a very small nod.

Aiden walked toward Lindsey smiling. "You want to take a walk?" Aiden asked her.

"Sure," Lindsey accepted a little cautiously.

"I want to tell you a story," Aiden told Lindsey. "Once upon a time, there was a girl and a boy. Their were names were Andy and David. Andy loved David, but she was too scared to tell him. She did not know if David would love her back, but she always told herself that she would do it tomorrow, but suddenly there wasn't one. Andy died, and David missed her sorely. Andy regretted leaving him, but there was nothing she could do about it."

"Is this a real story?" Lindsey asked Aiden with half a smile.

"Nope," Aiden replied, "completely fictional."

"So what happens next?" Lindsey asked, deciding to play along.

"David met another girl. This one was named Lisa. Lisa was sweeter than Andy, and much more understanding. David quickly fell in love with her. After a few years, they got married and their daughter Lydia was born. Sadly a few weeks later Lisa was injured. She was in critical condition and had to make a choice. She could keep fighting and go back to her family or she could give up and die."

"How does the story end?" Lindsey asked intrigued.

"I don't know," Aiden confessed. "I thought I would let you decide that."

"I need to know what the consequences are before I chose," Lindsey warned Aiden.

"Alright," Aiden considered for a second, "If Lisa goes back she will have a great family and another child. If she gave up the fight, she would die. It would break David's heart, and Lydia would grow up without a mother. Andy would then feel obliged to find Lisa in Heaven and beat her to a pulp for hurting David."

"I think Lisa should go with the first option," Lindsey concluded.

"So do I," Aiden agreed.

--- --- ---

"Claire I have missed you so much," Mac told her.

"I missed you too," she told him gently, "but you have to go back."

"What if I don't want to go back?" Mac asked but the words were scarcely out of his mouth before a hand collided with the side of his head.

"Don't you dare say that," Jessica told him angrily. "You have a chance to go back."

"But Claire," Mac started, but Jessica cut him off.

"No," she told him quickly passing the point where self-restraint existed. "I am not letting you throw you life away. Claire is dead. Claire will be right here when it really is your time to die. Claire doesn't need you. The team needs you. If you die you would rip them apart. Especially Stella." Jessica paused for breath and let her words sink in. "Stella would comfort Don or Danny or Lindsey or whoever else needed it. She would be the pillar of strength that she has always been, but when she got home she would cry. She needs you just like you need her. I would give the world to be able to have one last day with Don. Aiden would give the world to be able to tell Danny that she loves him. If you throw away your chance to go back to Stella, I will make your life…death…whatever miserable."

"She's right you know," Claire told him gently.

"Yea I know," Mac told them, "I'll go back."

"Good," Jessica said.

"Is Lindsey coming back?" Mac asked.

"If she isn't she gets the same lecture you just got," Jessica told him.

"Not necessary," Aiden said with a smile, as she and Lindsey walked back into the area where the other three were standing.

"Just walk over there and you will be back," Claire told them pointing to a small patch of light a little ways away.

"Thank you," Mac told the three of them, and then he stepped into the light and was gone.

"And Aiden," Lindsey said, pausing on the edge of the light and turning to face the others, "David loves Andy just as much as he loves Lisa. Lisa just got dealt the better cards." Then Lindsey too disappeared into the light.

"What did you tell her?" Claire asked Aiden curiously.

"A story," Aiden answered simply.

_**There will be one more chapter up in the next two day. Hope you liked it. **_


	2. Earth

_**Here is the next chapter. It is really the first chapter told from the point of view of the people on earth instead of those in Heaven. It was a little hard to write but I think it came out okay.**_

_**Spoilers: Pay-up, Grounds for Deception,**_

_**Disclaimer: It is not mine.**_

_**Dedication: afrozenheart412 because she was the only person to review the first chapter and her review totally made my day.**_

Everybody in the bar ducked to the ground as bullets penetrated the window of the bar. Danny pulled Lindsey down with him and Mac jumped across the table to that he was in front of Stella. They heard the car drive away and only then did they lift their heads.

Stella looked around quickly assessing the damage. Don, Sid, and Hawkes were picking themselves up. Danny was kneeling next to Lindsey who was bleeding. Stella looked around for Mac and realized that he was right next to her, and he too had a chest wound. Quickly Stella pulled off her jacket and pressed it over the wound.

"Someone call an ambulance," Stella yelled to the people around her.

"Already done," Don told her, and sure enough the sirens began to appear out of the darkness.

The team waited in silence until the paramedics arrived at the scene. Stella made sure that Mac was safely loaded on to a stretcher, and then she walked over to Danny, who was watching the ambulance with Lindsey drive away. Stella wanted more than anything to go with Mac to the hospital, but she needed to stay with Danny and the others.

This decision was reinforced when she realized that Danny was crying. "It didn't look good for her," Danny told Stella sadly.

"Lindsey is tough," Stella told him, "she will make it through this alive. She had a lot to live for." Danny nodded, but could not stem the flow of tears streaming down his cheeks. Stella hugged him tightly, wishing that she could make him stop hurting, but knowing she couldn't. Danny rested his head on her shoulder until the tears stopped flowing.

"Was anyone else hurt?" Danny asked Stella pulling away gently, "other than you."

"I'm not…" she started but stopped as Danny glared at her pointing to her arm. "That's just a scratch," she defended lightly.

"Stell," he started but she cut him off.

"Look Danny," she told him, "there were a limited number of medic's and Lindsey and Mac both had bullet wounds."

"Mac's hurt, too?" Danny asked her, and Stella nodded.

At that moment, Don walked up, "You guys want a lift to the hospital?" "Stella you're hurt," he told her.

"I am fine, Don, and a lift would be great come on, Danny," Stella told him before addressing the other three men around her. "Sid, Hawkes, Adam, Are you guys alright."

"I'm good," Sid said and Hawkes nodded, "you might want to get your arm examined though."

Stella groaned, "Hawkes tell them that my arm is fine,"

"It should be okay," Hawkes told the group and Stella grinned at him.

"Now, can we go to the hospital?" Stella asked.

--- --- ---

By the time the team reached the hospital, both Mac and Lindsey had gone into surgery. The team took their seats in the waiting room. After about fifteen minutes of sitting in silence Don stood up and walked out of the waiting room. As soon as he was out of earshot of the others he turned around and sank his fist in to the nearest wall succeeding in making a small dent. It did not bring him the satisfaction that he wanted so he tried again.

He was going for a third time when a voice broke the silence. "You know as amusing as I am sure that is, there are better ways to…whatever you are doing," Stella told him. How typical of Stella to follow him.

"Hey Stell," he greeted her, "how you doing?" He realized seconds to late that he should have phrased the question differently…much differently.

"Let me think," Stella replied sarcastically, "my entire team was shot at, two of my CSIs are now in critical condition, one of those CSIs was a new mother and the other was my best friend. Oh yea and earlier this morning one of my friends was killed in the line of duty, and a few days before that I discovered my friend was part of a smuggling ring, he knew my mother, and then he died in my arms. So yea I'm fine."

Don just looked at her for a second, and she shook her head, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to vent. It's just—"

"It's fine," Don told her pulling her into a hug.

"I just want to keep everyone together," Stella told him.

"You are doing just fine," he told her, "Seriously, I would be sitting in the ER with my hand bleeding and Danny would be going nuts."

"Thank you," she told him quietly, "and I'm sorry this had to happen so soon after Jessica died."

"It's not your fault," he reminded her.

"We should probably get back to the others," she said moving out of the embrace.

"Yea," Don agreed and together they walked down the hall back into the waiting room.

When they reached the waiting room they saw the entire team standing around the doctor. "What's up," Don asked the group at large.

"He will only let family see what is going on," Danny said pointing an accusatory finger at the doctor.

"Alright," Stella said calculation her best approach, "Danny go be with Lindsey."

"But…" Danny half-heartedly protested. He wanted to stay and help the others get in, but he also wanted to be there for Lindsey. Stella shot him a glare and he immediately walked into the ICU.

"Don," Stella said brushing her hand up against his badge so he would get her message.

"NYPD, can we go in to see a member of our team," Don asked nicely as was possible.

"I'm sorry," the doctor replied, "I didn't realize that…"

"Thank you," Don told him entering ICU.

"I need to see badges from all of you," the doctor told them as the others tried to enter after Don.

The other three all threw a glance at Stella because she was the only one left who had a badge. Quickly she walked around the three of them passing a badge to each of them as she passed. The three men flashed their badges at the doctor and walked into ICU glancing backwards at Stella. They watched as she talked to the doctor, and were surprised to see tears running down her cheeks. The doctor patted her on the back and let her pass.

Stella joined the other three and the walked together towards Mac and Lindsey's room. When they entered both Don and Danny looked up. "Okay, how did you get in?" Don asked.

"They flashed their badges," Stella told Don before turning to the other three and holding out her hand.

"Whose…" Don started to ask.

"Lindsey's, Mac's" she said placing each badge on it's owners side table, "and mine," she finished placing her own back on her belt.

"Then how did you get in?" Don asked slightly suspiciously.

"I told the doctor that Mac and I were engaged, and I threw in some tears for good measure," Stella told them matter-o-factly as she took on of the cheep plastic chairs next to Mac's bed. Don, who had been standing up until that point, took the chair next to Stella's. Danny was already sitting with Lindsey, and Adam joined him. Hawkes and Sid took the two chairs in the middle.

--- --- ---

The team had been there for several hours. Adam, Sid, Hawkes, and Don had left. Don had only done so after much insistence from Stella, most of which involve someone looking after Lucy, and a solemn promise that he would be called the moment anything changed. Only Stella and Danny had stayed. For the most part this was because no one was naive enough to believe that they could actually convince either of them to move.

Danny had fallen asleep a few hours before with his hand in Lindsey's. Stella was still awake, and she was holding Mac's hand gently in hers. She hated seeing Mac like this. He was always so strong yet now he looked so broken. His face was pale and he was hooked up to a million different tubes.

She closed her eyes, and was about to fall into a sleep. Then she felt a small squeeze on her hand. Her eyes shot open, and she looked down at Mac, his eyes were open. "Mac," she whispered, not daring to believe it.

"Are you all right?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," Stella answered.

"Lindsey is awake," Mac told her and Stella's head jerked up.

"She is?" Stella asked confused before realizing that Mac was right, "Danny wake-up."

"What?" Danny said groggily.

"Miss me?" Lindsey asked. Danny didn't answer, instead he leaned over and hugged her; careful of the many tubes she was hooked up to.

"Stella," Mac said looked up at her, "you're crying."

"What?" Stella said confused feeling her face and realizing that once again he was right, "It's been a long day."

"I'm sorry," Mac said immediately.

"No," Stella told him, "you aren't going to blame yourself. This is not your fault." She looked at him for a long moment, and then she leaned down and hugged him. "I was scared I was going to lose you," she admitted quietly.

"I'm not going to go anywhere," he told her hugging her back.

There was a slight cough from the doorway, and Stella froze. "Sorry Don," she told him without looking to see who it was.

"It's alright Stell," Don told her squeezing her shoulder before addressing Mac and Lindsey. "Glad you two could come back to us."

Mac and Lindsey glanced at each other then answered together, "We had help."

One of those endings that you are writing and you don't know how to end it until it stands up and smacks you in the face. Did you like it?

_**CSI NY starts tonight but unless they let me out of school for a third day in a row I will not be able to watch until this weekend. **__****___

_**My school has been closed due to flooding since Monday afternoon and I was out sick on Monday so I have had a five day weekend.**_


End file.
